Over the last few years, we have become friends with a couple that live just up the road from us. Nicole and Scott own horses, two now, though it all started with one and a couple of ducks. Nicole has loved and taken care of horses her entire life and wanted to share this awesome experience with Ella. Nicole and Scott often help us take care of our little farm when we go on vacation. Nicole is an expert with animals, training her goats to take her for rides in a little wagon and her ducks, well, ok, only one of the ducks is smart enough to learn anything…
The other night, Ella and I were able to help with the grooming and little did I know, I really needed that time with Ruffin.
We first met Ruffin as he strolled past the Farm Store one Saturday morning giving Nicole a nice ride. We were instantly in love. We gave him a blueberry muffin with his mom’s permission and ever since then, whenever he walks past our Farm Store, whether or not we are open, Nicole feels the pull on the reins as he tries to lead her towards the blueberry muffins.
Over the last few years, Ella dabbled in getting to know Ruffin, grooming, riding and of course chore completing!
The other night, Ella and I went over to help with the Spring defluffing- well, at least that is what we call it in our house with Jake. Ever other day we can brush an entire puppy’s worth of hair off him during the spring season. Same thing happens to horses. They start to shed and shed and shed…
I had a relaxing time using my favorite tool, the “Furminator”. This brush/comb pulls the dead undercoat right out. It is very satisfying to see the hair come out, and apparently, relaxing for the horse as well, he kept reaching over with his head to give me a quick snuggle. The first time it sort of spooked me and I thought I hurt him, so I looked him right in the eye and asked him if I had done something wrong. He just continued to stare at me, so I figured we were all good. The next time he reached over, I caught sight of him coming out of the corner of my eye, so I didn’t get as nervous as he was “oh so gently” just reminding me not to stop. I may love horse snuggles more than dog snuggles!
A few blogs ago I wrote about how important animals are in our lives. They know when we are upset, they apply gentle pressure both physical and mentally to help us relax. Well, you dog lovers out there may not like what I have to say, but horses may do that better than dogs. I am quite certain that the stress of my day melted away as I brushed Ruffin. I am not exactly sure how he does it, but that is totally what happened.
It is not that my day at work was that bad. In fact, I got to leave on time so that Ella and I could go visit Ruffin. I don’t recall too much stress during the day, no hard decisions, just normal work stuff. But as I pondered the experience, I realized that the work day is anxiety producing all on its own. Just going to work produces experiences that mess with our equilibrium. Even subconsciously. For me especially, the commute can set me off to have a good day or a bad day. That day the traffic wasn’t horrible, but just yesterday I sat in traffic both directions- an accident going south in the morning, and accident going north in the afternoon. Total driving time for the day- three (3) hours. By the time I got home, I had had it. Ella and I went for a run to get rid of the stress. Running gave me something else to think about and it finally melted away.
The stress of a normal day at work can produce some seriously naughty chemicals in our body that overtime can turn on the stress cycle and wreck havoc on our bodies. A number of blogs ago, we talked about that stress cycle and ways to break the cycle. Spending time with animals, spending time in nature, exercise, all things that help combat the stress and set your mind and body right again.
The fact that I didn’t really think I was stressed before we went to see Ruffin, and then the feeling I had after we spent time with him made me realize how insidious stress can be. We don’t even realize that we are stressed until we feel ourselves without it. That is why I wanted to blog about this afternoon with Ruffin. I really thought I was doing really well, especially since our vacation, in keeping my stress levels down and getting through the things I needed to get through. It wasn’t until I spent time with Ruffin that I realized, perhaps I wasn’t doing as good of a job as I thought I was…
We are all on a journey. A journey through life, a wellbeing journey. My journey continues to be spotted with experiences that demonstrate for me what I need to do to take care of myself. I asked Nicole, Ruffin’s mom, if it was ok for me to blog about our experience because I wanted to share this part of my wellness journey with you. And of course, I wanted to include a few very special photos from through the years. The new, little horse Juno is adorable, and Ella is quite smitten with her. You can see both Ella and Ruffin getting older, see the transformation in both girl and horse! Especially with the first and last pictures in the gallery at the beginning of the blog. Ruffin once felt huge to Ella, now they see eye to eye.
Of course, both horses got treats when it was all over. Ella ever so gently lets them eat out of the palm of her hand. The whole experience made me smile. Made me happy. Thank you Ruffin, Juno and Nicole. You made our day!
Be Well,
Teresa
